


The Shrike and the Thorn

by JoyfullyyoursDav



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brother-Sister Relationships, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Episode: e051-057 The Suffering Game Parts 1-7, Episode: e060-066 The Stolen Century Parts 1-7, Family Feels, Gen, Memory Loss, Minor Violence, POV Taako (The Adventure Zone), Post-Canon, Separations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-08 06:46:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15925052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoyfullyyoursDav/pseuds/JoyfullyyoursDav
Summary: What does sacrifice mean to someone who can't remember what he's lost? Bit by bit, Taako is figuring it out.





	The Shrike and the Thorn

**Author's Note:**

> lyrics and title are from "shrike" by hozier (i swear it was written about taako and lup) which you should listen to on repeat for two days like i did
> 
> also, sorry in advance for the sad taako+lup feels, i will never stop crying about these twins

_Bites on above, but never would form_  
_Like a cry at the final breath that is drawn_  
_Remember me, love, when I’m reborn_  
_As the shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn_

  
The cave in front of them is empty except for the pedestal. Perched on top is a large sphere of bright, shimmering light. A beacon, on display for all to see from the valley below. Taako shakes his head, glancing at his sister. People never fail to surprise him. Give ‘em something they love too much, and they’ll risk losing it at every turn. Arrogance. That’s what it comes down to.

Lup waves her hand, dropping the Silence spell she’d cast so that they could make a stealthy approach. “Whump, there it is,” she breathes.

“A trap,” Taako whispers.

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“Should we go get the others?” They came here on Magnus's intel: reports of weird cult activity centering around this cave. Fifteen cycles in, they’ve learned that “weird cult activity” often (but not always) means folks have found the light of creation and are soaking up some hardcore crave-waves. (And on occasion, it means tense interactions with the locals when the light of creation isn’t a factor after all. Every reality has its weirdos.)

“And climb all the way back up here? I don’t know about you, bud, but I learned magic strictly so I would never have to exercise.” Lup smirks briefly, before her brow furrows. “What time is it? D’you think they’re asleep?”

“No idea,” Taako says, and glances up at the six disorienting suns above them. Their position tells him nothing. So far during their eight weeks on this plane, it hasn’t been nighttime even once. And something about the air or altitude here has given him nausea since they landed. Miserably, Taako wipes sweat off his brow. “Hey, are we _sure_ we wanna save this one?” he asks.

Lup chuckles quietly. “Yeah, I think we better try.”

Taako sighs. He hates doing recon. He and Lup usually get saddled with it, because they can most reliably turn invisible or fly away if they need to. Of all things, they had to become  _wizards,_ like a couple of chumps.

“Well, what do you think? It’s _right there_ ,” Lup whispers. “I say we grab it and run. We can probably handle whatever they throw at us. And if not, well…” She shrugs. “The others know where we went. They can come get the light if we beef it.”

“Immortality is a great look on you,” Taako teases.

“I make everything look good.” Lup flashes him a smile. “So? We doing this?”

“Ah, fine, okay. On the count of—”

But Lup’s already up and bolting towards the cavern. With a groan, Taako leaps to his feet, managing not to slip on the loose gravel beneath him, and sprints after her. He passes through the entrance of the cave just a few feet behind her. He's wincing, expecting an explosion to pop off or a net to fall from the ceiling. But nothing happens. With a whoop that’s only slightly subdued, Lup grabs the light, tossing it once in the air, as if testing it to see if it’s counterfeit.

Taako scans the cave quickly, but it’s truly as empty as it seemed from the outside. “Let’s go,” he says.

“Suckers!” Lup quips, laughing as they run out of the cave and start sprinting and sliding down the mountain. As they go, Lup tosses Taako the light, and without slowing, he wraps it in his robe and tucks it securely into his pack.

“What losers,” Lup pants, a huge smile on her face. “Imagine basing a whole cult around something you don’t even bother to _guard_ properl—”

And then, without warning, the mountain explodes around them.

Taako is blasted through the air with a heat and a fury he recognizes, having been blown up a few cycles ago. Dying once before has taught him two things: being blown up doesn’t hurt as much as you’d think, and his last living thought will be of his sister’s face. Sure enough, he sees her smile, the kind she has right before she bursts into laughter. He thinks he hears her voice, calling out his name. And before he even hits the ground, everything goes black.

* * *

 _I couldn’t utter my love when it counted_  
_Ah, but I’m singing like a bird ‘bout it now_

  
“Taako, this isn’t going to work.”

He looks up from his book of recipes, blinking at the sudden sunlight streaming into the wagon. Sazed is standing there, holding the flap open and looking as grumpy as Taako’s ever seen him.

“Hm?” he asks, returning to his book for a moment to circle what he’d just written: _shallots??_ The past few show preps, he’s been trying to recreate the roast turkey his aunt used to make. Without success. For some reason, he can’t remember one of the main ingredients. Frustrated, he scribbles that out and jots down _green onions??_ It shouldn’t be this hard. _She made it for us at least once a year_ —no, wait, his aunt had been a vegetarian, the turkey was always just for him—

“Taako.” Sazed’s voice cuts through his thoughts, sharp and insistent.

Taako sighs as he looks up. “Yes?”

“We’re down a horse from that freak accident last week, and if we wanna make it to the Neverwinter show, we have to leave today,” Sazed says. “Like, an hour ago would have been perfect.”

Taako sighs again, heavier this time, and closes his notebook. “Okay, take it down a notch, Sanchez,” he says slowly. “Do you know of any...local horse dealers?”

Sazed blinks at him and says, “We’re on the outskirts of the Felicity Wilds.”

“Okay…?”

“No horse dealers.” Despite his obvious annoyance, Sazed chuckles. “I thought you said you’ve traveled a lot? You’ve never been to the Felicity Wilds?”

“Apparently not.” Taako stands and exits the wagon, hopping down and looking around. Sazed follows, crossing his arms. They set up camp well after dark last night, so this is the first look Taako’s really gotten of the place. They’re on the edge of a dirt road—more of a path, really—amidst a dense, dark forest. Not a person or sign of civilization to be seen.

“Oh! I’ve got just the thing,” Taako says. "Stand back!" And with a wave of his hands and a few muttered words, the quasi-real form of Garyl appears, rearing back on his hind legs and neighing majestically. Planting all four hooves on the ground, Garyl jerks his head in their direction and says, “Yo.”

Taako grins at Sazed’s open-mouthed reaction, before turning to the horse. “Hey Garyl. Can you—hang on.” Taako squints, looking closer. “Where’d the second horn come from, my man?”

Sure enough, there are _two_ rainbow-striped horns protruding from Garyl’s forehead, shimmering in the morning light, where there had always just been one before.

“Beats me,” Garyl says. “I’m a creation of _your_ imagination, my dude.”

“This thing can…pull the cart?” Sazed interrupts.

“Um, excuse you, this thing has a name and it’s Garyl,” Taako says.

“Yeah, don't forget it, little man,” Garyl drawls, before turning his attention back to Taako. “Hey, where’s the other one?” he asks.

“Other one?” Taako asks.

“The other elf. The one that looks like you.”

Taako raises an eyebrow. “I think you’ve gotten into the marijuana patch in the ethereal plane again, Gare-Bear. There’s only one elf alive that looks _this_ good.”

Garyl stares at him for a moment before doing the horse equivalent of a shrug. “Whatever. So you want me to do something, or what?”

“Oh, yeah. You’re gonna help pull this wagon.”

“Just…pull the wagon?”

“Yeah, for sure.”

“Hell yeah, that’s no problem,” Garyl replies, and paws at the dirt beneath his hooves impatiently.

Taako hops back into the wagon. “Strap him in, and let’s get this show on the road!” He opens his recipe book as Sazed, looking uneasy, leads Garyl by the spectral reins to the front of the wagon.

“Oh, by the way!” Taako sticks his head back out of the wagon to shout. “When he starts fading, it means he’s starting to peace out! He only lasts an hour!”

Out of sight now, Taako hears Sazed grumble, “How is this even useful?”

“Hey, when I see you summoning unicorns—er, I mean, _binicorns_ from the ether, we’ll talk about usefulness!” Taako calls back. “Now let’s get moving, my dude! I got crowds to dazzle!”

* * *

 _I couldn’t whisper when you needed it shouted_  
_Ah, but I’m singing like a bird ‘bout it now_

  
When he opens his eyes, he’s looking up at a sky with too many suns. His ears are ringing and he lies still for a moment, assessing. Well. He’s not on the Starblaster, which means somehow, he’s still breathing. He slowly sits up, mostly just to see if he can, and he’s surprised to find that his injuries are minor. His ribs smart a little, but they feel bruised, not broken. His head is swimming, but he’s certainly felt worse.

He’s alone. Looking around, Lup is nowhere to be seen. Taako spots his pack about ten feet away, singed a little but still in one piece. “Lup?” he calls out as he crab-crawls over to the pack. The light of creation is still securely wrapped inside, unharmed. He slips the pack on, then rubs his ringing ears, hoping it’ll subside soon.

Lup would have found him if she was able to. Which means she’s either unconscious somewhere on this mountainside, or dead, or…Taako looks up at the dark cave that’s just barely visible from here. He pulls himself to his feet, grimacing slightly—okay, maybe Merle will have some work to do when he gets back after all—and starts making his way back up. He moves on a feeling, a hunch. A twin’s intuition.

He doesn’t bother with stealth. He’s sore and angry and just about done trying to save this reality. If Lup’s dead…well, this year is gonna suck. A whole year of Merle trying to make small talk over breakfast every morning, Magnus challenging him to stupid duels, Lucretia asking him about his _childhood_ , of all things, to write in her dumb diary. Lup’s died once before without him, a couple months from the end of a cycle, and it was bad. Bad and boring and pointless. He doesn’t want to spend a whole year like that. Angrily, he wipes his nose on the sleeve of his shirt.

As soon as he crests the top of the mountain, he calls out, “Hey, homies! You wanna show yourselves or just blow random people—” But he stops short.

The cave isn’t empty now. There are about a dozen figures inside. Mostly humans, with a couple halflings and some hulking, massive creatures that look like they’ve got giant blood. And now that he’s not rushing, he senses it: the faintly buzzing air of a powerful spell, recently cast. Probably some kind of illusion or invisibility charm. He’s angry with himself for missing it before.

And then he sees Lup. She’s slumped against a wall, hair spilling over her face like a curtain. Her hands are tied behind her back and she’s flanked by two of the massive creatures. Taako freezes.

“Well, well, well,” one of the humans says, stepping closer. He has pasty white skin mottled with lesions. His face breaks into a wide, sinister smile, showing several missing teeth. “Looks like we grabbed the wrong elf, boys!” he calls to the others. And Taako notices that every stranger in the cave is staring hungrily at his pack.

Taako clears his throat and calls out, “Lup? You alive over there?”

Mercifully, Lup lifts her head to look at him. “Wha—I—Taako, get out of here!” she yells, right before one of the giants kicks her in the ribs. She yelps, and Taako tenses, his palms growing hot with all the spells he’s longing to lob at these shitheads. He glances around the cave again, searching for an angle, a weak spot. It’s a dozen to one. He’ll fight if he has to, but he doesn’t like these odds.

“Here’s the deal,” the human says, rubbing his hands together. “And it’s the only one you’ll get. Your pick: the elf or that light you got inside your—”

“I’ll take the elf.” Taako quickly slips off his pack and tosses it to the man, who—taken by surprise—just barely catches it. That's another thing he's learned about people. They assume what they love will be protected by everyone else, treated as the treasured thing it is. And they're surprised when, instead, it's treated like garbage, tossed aside.

Taako knows better. That's why he takes care of his own. He assumes others won't, and so he guards it, trusting no one. He keeps it close, everything else be damned. It's served him well up to now.

“Alright then,” the human says, the corners of his mouth twitching, and he nods to one of the giants.

Lup opens her mouth to protest, but before she makes a sound, the giant yanks her to her feet and shoves her toward Taako. He catches her by the shoulders, giving her a quick once-over. She has burns on her arms and blood is streaked down one side of her face, but she can walk. Could probably chuck some fireballs at these fools, too, if her hands were free.

But there’s no time for that. Taako puts an arm around her and starts leading her out of the cave. “Pleasure doing business with you fellas,” he calls over his shoulder. “Sadly no returns, or I’ll have to kill you all!” And then he’s off, half-carrying, half-dragging his sister down the mountain as fast as he can go.

“Taako,” Lup groans quietly. “Why’d you do that? You had the light and I—”

“Hey, what’s that thing Auntie used to tell us?” Taako interrupts. “Don’t ask stupid questions if you don’t want a stupid answer?” And they're silent for the rest of the long walk back to the ship.

* * *

 _I fled to the city with so much discounted_  
_Ah, but I'm flying like a bird to you now_  
_Back to the hedgerows where bodies are mounted_  
_Ah, but I'm flying like a bird to you now_

  
The reason he agrees to be hired by the Bureau is the same reason he stepped into the transport sphere in the first place. It’s the reason he picked up the gauntlet and put it into his bag, even though it terrified him. It’s the reason he chased after that dwarf, followed him on his warpath to Phandalin. And it’s the reason he took the weird magical umbrella off that dead guy in the cave.

It’s why he’s done everything he’s done while following this boner squad around for the past week. Because there’s a vibration under his boots, one he can hardly feel, yet knows is there. Years of unearned confidence, a lifetime of being outcast but never truly feeling _alone_  until recently—it’s all built and built and built, somehow, to this.

When the umbrella’s crackling energy makes all his hair stand on end, it feels a tiny bit like coming home. He doesn't understand it, but it feels like confirmation. When the Director tells him he’s special, it feels like he dreamed about this, once.

It’s all turning out to be something like fate.

Taako doesn’t have much use for the gods. Mostly because they’ve never had much use for him. But fate…that’s something he can work with.

* * *

 _Driving alone, following your form_  
_Hung like the pelt of some prey you had worn_  
_Remember me, love, when I’m reborn_  
_As a shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn_

   
Back in the Starblaster's warm kitchen, and after Lup’s been patched up a bit, they tell the others what happened. Taako lets Lup do most of the talking. He sneaks glances at her as she speaks, just to make sure she's doing okay. Her head is heavily bandaged and she looks too small, somehow, sitting in the comfiest chair the ship has to offer. (Usually Magnus fights Lup for this chair, but upon seeing them enter, he practically threw it at her.)

When the story’s over, Davenport rubs his temples for a moment. “Well,” he says. “We can try again, I suppose. Assuming they haven’t set up camp somewhere else or strengthened their defenses. The odds of us getting our hands on the light again might be slim.”

“It’s done, Dav,” Lup says. She leans back, looking exhausted.

“Yes, it is.” Davenport turns his attention to Taako, his expression dark and serious. “I think we should have a talk about our mission,” he says.

Merle is applying an herbal ointment to a gash on Taako’s shin, an injury he hadn’t even noticed until they got home and he realized one of his shoes was filled with blood. Taako winces at the sting, then says, “Okay, hit me. What’s the mission?”

“To retrieve the light of creation and save each plane from the Hunger,” Davenport says, flat and without emotion.

“Oh, weird,” Taako says. “See, when I signed up for this nonstop thrill-ride, it was to research the planar system and cook the meals. My bad.”

Davenport sighs. “Fifteen years in, things have obviously changed, Taako.”

“Thing is, Dav? Fifteen years in, we still don’t know anything,” Taako says, pulling his leg away from Merle and yanking his bloodied pant leg back down. “We don’t know anything about the planar system or the light or—I mean, fuck. Far as we know, the Hunger is a normal part of it all. Maybe this is just how the universe _works_.”

“Well, we can disagree about that,” Davenport says. “But even so, we gotta try to preserve as many planes as possible—”

Taako crosses his arms. “You do that, then. And I’ll do my thing.”

Silence falls on them all, heavy and tense. Davenport clears his throat after a moment. “I’m your captain,” he begins.

“Okay, captain this then.” Taako starts putting on his shoes, lacing them up tight. “If the mission needs us to sacrifice ourselves for something we don’t even understand, I’m not your dude. I'm not jumping onto any swords. And I’m definitely not throwing Lup onto one. So you’ll have to replace me, I guess. Good luck with _that_ hiring process.”

Magnus throws up his hands, interrupting. “Taako, listen, it’s _one year_ ,” he says. “One year and we come back, compared to the lives of every person on this plane. I know you’d miss her—”

“Hey? My dude?” Taako adjusts his hat and sits up a little straighter. “This probably isn’t the PC thing to say, but  _I don’t give a shit about this plane._ And for the record, neither do the people that live here. If they want to destroy their whole civilization over a pretty light, cool! Go for it! Why should I stop them?”

“Taako, you—you don’t mean that,” Lucretia says nervously.

“Okay, let me make myself clearer, then.” Taako speaks slowly and pointedly, locking eyes with everyone in the room in turn. Except Lup. He avoids looking at Lup with everything he's got as he says, “I wouldn’t give up _a really good sandwich_ to save this plane. Never mind my sister.” He stands up, glancing around the room. “We good?” Nobody answers, so Taako nods and says, “Cool.” He heads toward the exit.

He steps out onto the deck, heading for the gangplank, right when someone grabs his elbow. He spins around, ready to curse whoever’s trying to stop him, to find Lup standing there. “Hey,” Taako says, his shoulders relaxing.

“Hey,” she says back. “Look, I think what you did was strategically really stupid. Like, a super bonehead thing to do. You totally Merle’d it up.”

“Yeah?”

“For sure.” She pulls him into a tight hug. “Thank you.”

Taako smiles against her shoulder. “I think that's your head injury talking."

"It's not. Shut up." She gives him a squeeze. " _Thanks_."

"Yeah, no problem.”

Without letting go, she continues. “And don’t tell the others I said this—‘cause I think I’m the good twin right now? And I kinda want to milk that for all it’s worth.” Taako chuckles, and he can hear a smile in Lup's voice. “But, well, you know. I would have traded it for you too.”

“Yeah, I know,” he says.

“Okay.” Lup pulls back from the hug. “You can make your dramatic exit now if you want. Sorry for messing it up.”

Taako sighs. “Eh, it’s alright. The moment’s passed.”

Lup grins, then says, “Hey, I figured out where Barry hides the potions of fire-breathing.”

Taako’s eyes light up. “No way. You up for a round of 'No, Seriously, the Floor is Really Lava'?”

“Always.” And they link elbows, heading back inside together.

* * *

 _And I had no idea on what ground I was founded_  
_All of that goodness is gone with you now_

  
Taako doesn't pity people. To do so, you have to want to give people something you have. And Taako wants all that he's got, and then some.

So in his semi-conscious state, when he hears the screams of the female lich, his reaction surprises him. The screams echo through Wonderland, through his very core. And, in a way that makes no sense, he feels like he’s been kicked in the chest. Pity. Deepest, hideous pity.

Up until now, he hasn’t felt much of anything in this place. He didn’t feel bad when he slammed the FORSAKE button. He gave up his vitality and dexterity and beauty, and at every turn, remained unphased. What's pain? What is loss, in a place like this? Getting crushed by the air conditioner sucked, of course, but at the same time, it felt as mundane as the rest.

The good thing about building up walls your whole life is that it really prepares you for torture. Who would’ve thought.

But the strangest part is that some of this hellish excursion has felt really _familiar_. Merle—one eye gone, lighter pockets, having given up skills and luck and his own health, for Taako—and Magnus, down a finger, aged like milk, missing the most formative memory of his life...these sacrifices, though obviously new, feel _old_. Like something they’ve done before, something they’ve done more than once. Having no choice but to offer themselves up like livestock for slaughter...it’s a feeling Taako hasn’t been able to shake this whole time in Wonderland. Despite the fact that, when you get down to it, he barely knows these guys. And despite what he definitely knows about himself.

He’s not a good person. He ran away from the town he poisoned. He’s been alone his whole life, so he cares about _numero uno_ and that’s it, the rest of the world can stuff it. He's selfish and shallow and not half as bright or capable as he pretends to be.

He's given up a lot in Wonderland. But as it turns out, a lot is easy to give. As long as he doesn't lose Magnus or Merle. This thought creeps into his semi-conscious mind and surprises him. Since when does he care about anyone else? But since when would he get his life sucked out of him, or give up his money-maker, or be the soft landing for a solid ton of machinery, just so Merle and Magnus wouldn't have to spin that goddamn wheel again?

And right in this moment, while thinking about sacrifice, he's brought back to consciousness by Lydia’s screams. He squints open an eye just in time to see her clutching the ashes of her brother. Just in time to see her get ripped apart by the forces of grief.

And this, too, feels familiar.

“Liches…get…stitches,” he manages to say—because what else can he do, but deflect?—and then he fades into nothingness once more.

* * *

 _I was hatched by your warmth, thus transformed_  
_But you're grounded and giving and darkening scorn_  
_Remember me, love, when I'm reborn_  
_As a shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn_

  
“Happy birthday, goofus.”

Taako is standing beside Lup's bed, holding a tray, when she opens her eyes. She sits up, smiling. “Oh, shit! It’s our birthday? I—I forgot—”

“Well, you just got your body back four days ago, thus converting your soul from pure arcane energy and stuffing it back into a physical meat vessel, so.” Taako grins. “I’ll let it slide this time.” He sets the tray on her lap, then sits on the edge of her bed. “I wasn’t sure if your appetite would be back to normal, but a carb overload never killed anyone.”

Lup starts eating. “Well, that's definitely untrue. But I haven’t even seen a spread this good in, like, eleven years. If I puke, I puke.”

“Ugh, please don’t.” But Taako’s still grinning. “I'm also making roast turkey for later, so don’t burn out too fast, okay? You got a lotta eatin’ to do today.”

Lup pauses, sets down her fork and gives Taako a look he hasn’t seen in over a decade, but one he immediately recognizes: his sister is about to say something he might not like. “Hit me,” he says instantly, and she laughs.

“It’s just…I remember you telling Angus that you didn’t like to cook for people, after Glamor Springs. ‘Cause it made you nervous.” Lup is staring down at her fork, twisting it between her fingers. “Do you feel better about it now, since you know what happened wasn’t your fault?”

“Okay, first of all, it’s never gonna stop being creepy that you eavesdropped on me for a whole year,” Taako says. “And second of all, I’m pretty sure you’re unkillable? I mean, I don’t really wanna _test_ that, but all signs indicate that literally nothing can kill you, not even your own magical vore-staff—”

Lup rolls her eyes. “How many times have I told you? _It wasn’t a vore thing_.”

“Yeah, sure, it was just a device that happened to be _super_ into vore—”

“It was a highly specialized and powerful device that was, if I do say so myself, _brilliantly_ designed—”

“To vore. Yeah, got it.”

“I am not having this argument. Again.” And Lup throws a piece of bacon at him.

Taako sticks his tongue out at her, then continues. “Anyway, finding out it wasn’t my fault definitely helped. But honestly, we haven’t celebrated our birthday in, like, a decade and—I don’t know. I wanted to…” He looks up at the ceiling. “Make it special, I guess.”

Lup nudges him with her leg. “That’s real sweet,” she says. “And makes me feel extra super-duper guilty that I completely forgot about, you know. Our _birth_.”

“Well, you have a lot going on.”

“Still. I’m gonna get you something. Something rad. Tell me. What does the wizard who’s got everything want for his birthday?”

Taako grins, and doesn’t say what he’s thinking. He’s tried to get better about this in the past few months that his memories have been back. He and Lup have always been on the same wavelength their whole lives. They left so much unsaid for that reason, and it had worked for them. Until their lives got pulled apart. Now Taako finds himself imagining Lup, trapped, knowing she’d been forgotten. And he thinks about everything he wished he'd told her, things she could have held onto inside that umbrella, lined up, used as glue to hold herself together. She’s told him it’s not necessary, harboring that kind of guilt. She’s told him that she knows all the things he didn’t say, that the knowledge held her together anyway. But still, he wishes things had been different.

So, as uncomfortable as it makes him, he’s been talking more. He usually uses the Band of Telepathic Thought with Lup, because it's easier (and more private, in their house that's always filled with people) than speaking aloud.

Right now, Taako should tell her that _she’s_ a gift, the most meaningful one of his life. He constantly marvels at all the small things that have returned to him with Lup: spells he forgot he learned. Recipes, smells, tastes, the names of constellations and moons. The memory of the first time he summoned Garyl, and Lup laughed so hard she peed a little.

He should say these things, and he will. But for now, he knows that she gets it. Gets him. Understands the depth of their bond better than anyone else, maybe even better than he does. So he just smiles and says, “Let’s start with…a lack of puke. Okay? Can you handle that? The gift of non-vomit?”

Lup laughs, takes another bite, then pushes the tray away. “Yeah, but I think…I think doubling down on carbs might be pushing it.”

“I’ll make you some tea.” Taako picks up the tray and stands up. “Oh, by the way. I sent Barry and Kravitz out on some bogus errands so I could turn the whole house into a ball pit.”

Lup lets out a loud laugh. “You’re _joking_.”

“It’s already done. The cats are going berserk. See you downstairs!” And with that, Taako walks away, leaving the door open. His sister’s lilting laughter follows him, and the smell of roast turkey greets him, and he thinks about two birds, meeting in the air, separating, and coming together again to land on the same branch. He thinks about the gods they've met, the worlds they've saved, all the places he's carried his sister without knowing it, and he smiles.


End file.
